Flex for php developers

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Building mobile and tablet applications in Flex and PHP with Flash Builder for PHPKevin Schroeder

Zend Technologies


About Kevin

Past: Programming/Sys Admin

Current: Technology Evangelist/Author/Composer

@kpschrade



Agenda

• The basics

• Creating a project

• Working with MXML

• Working with ActionScript

• Connecting to PHP


The Basics

• What is Flash? A platform for building highly interactive web content

• What is AIR? A runtime of the Flash environment for the desktop

• What is ActionScript The natively supported programming language for building

more than just simple graphic animations

• What is Flex? An SDK for building Rich Internet Applications in

Flash/ActionScript


Flash/Flex Projects


Creating a project ( w/ PHP )

Connects the projects


Flex Project Basics

• AIR projects will have an Application Descriptor file Defines

• Application Name

• Versioning

• Initialization settings– Width

– Height

– Visible

– Etc. etc. etc.

• Etc. etc. etc.

• Flex/web projects inherit this from the browser


MXML


MXML

• An XML-based UI markup language

• Describes UI elements Position

Data Bindings

Events

• Two primary component sets (for widgets) MX – the older brother (Flex 3)

Spark – the new hotness (Flex 4)• Most of what you need to do will be in Spark


MXML Example

XML Namespace declaration for Spark Components

XML Namespace declaration for Flex (non-visual, generally)


MXML – Adding a component

Choosing from a list of Spark Components


MXML – Creating Flex Elements

Defining local data container

Defining local ActionScript container


MXML – Binding Static Data

Declared a data source

Accessed the data source


MXML - Events

Defining the event

Event callback


MXML – Events (alternatively)


ActionScript


ActionScript

• ActionScript is what makes Flash interesting

• Strong Typing (optional)

• Object Oriented

• Embeddable in MXML or writable in standard class files


Language Features

• Very similar syntax to Java

• Object Oriented

• Namespaced

• Variables defined with a var keyword

• Variable type definitions are done with a semi-colon

• Casting is done with an as keyword

• Event Driven - No threading


Language Features

Variable Declaration

Type Declaration

NamespaceReturn Value Type

Variable Type Casting

Variable Type Checking

Event Based


Remoting


Action Message Format

• Protocol for serializing objects to/from a Flash player

• Supports strong typing of data

• Support in multiple languages

• Support for any binary transport that ActionScript supports

• Two versions AMF0

AMF3


Zend_Amf

• A Zend Framework based component to facilitate connections to Flash

• Two mechanisms Direct Serializer

• Used for non-service endpoints (SMTP, Stomp, File System)

• Generally not what you will use

Zend_Amf_Server• Used for service-based endpoints

• Manages calls to service classes similar to MVC

• Generally what you will use


Direct Serializer

Weird, but required

Create an object

Create the output stream

Create the serializer

Write the object

Get the output from the stream


Reading the (PHP) serialized object

Not just for PHP!

Magic!

Regular binary data


PHP Application

Building a Service Oriented Architecture

Service Class 1

Flash Application

Service Call 1

Service Call 3

Service Class 2Service Class 3Service Class 4

Gateway

HTTP


A Simple Architecture

Services to expose

Document Root

Libraries and Value Objects*

*/services is not in the include_path, otherwise value objects would go there


Integrating into your own application

• Define service classes

• Bootstrap your application

• Call Zend_Amf_Server


Demo : Creating and binding a PHP endpoint(slides would mean endless screen shots that would result in… well… this:


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